Ratchet-wrench.



Patented July 13, 1909.

0. M. WEIR.

RATOHET WRENCH.

APPLIOATION FILED MAY 22, 1908.

/fl 014 44 40 41 J5 awmzntoz atborwua OLIVER M. WEIR, OF LAUREL,INDIANA.

RATCHET-WRENCH.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented July 13, 1909.

Application filed May 22, 1908. Serial No. 434,343.

To all whom it may concern:

Be .it known that l, ()mvnn M. \Vmn, a citizen of the United States,residing at Laurel, in the county of F ranlrlin, State of Indiana, haveinvented certain new and useful Improvements in Ratchetrenches; and I dohereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact descriptionof the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to whichit appertains to make and use the same.

This invention relates to ratchet wrenches, and has for one of itsobjects to improve and simplify the construction and increase thee'tfieiency of devices of this construction.

Another object of the invention is to pro vide a simply constructeddevice of this character comprising a head having a nut receiving cavityand a reversible operating handle, so that the wrench may no applied forright and left handed nuts or for turning nuts upon or 0d of bolts asrequired, and without removing the wrench from the nut.

Another object of the invention is to provide a simply constructeddevice of this character wierein the nut receiving cavity may beadjusted to fit nuts of various sizes.

With these and other objects in view the invention consists in certainnovel features of construction as hereafter shown and described andspecifically pointed out in the claims, and in the drawings illustratingthe preferred embodiment of the invention, Figure l is a plan view ofthe improved wrench. Fig. 2 is a side elevation of the same. Fig. 3 is asection on the line 8 3 of Fig. 2. Fig. 4 is a section on the line l4tof Fig. 1.

The improved device comprises a circular head 10 having spaced teeth 11in its outer face, the teeth having their sides radially of the head orwhat is known as square teeth. The periphery of the head is also formedwith spaced annular flanges 1213, and bearing against the teeth 11between these flanges at one point is a concaved portion let of a handle15, the concaved portion having a transverse cavity formed by spacedside portions 1617, the spaced sides being connected at opposite sidesof the center by pins 1819.

Surrounding the head 10 between the flanges 1213 is a resilient strap 20having barbed ends 2122 adapted to be engaged with the pins 18-19 asshown, the strap member thus forming a means for coupling the handle toto the head and permitting the handle to be rotated around the head,while at the same time readily detachable therefrom by disconnecting thebarbed ends C of the resilient member from the pins, as will be obvious.

A pawl having two points 23-24 is swingingly mounted within the spacebetween the sides l6--l7 by a pivot pin 25, the two points of the pawladapted to be alternately engaged with the teeth 11, and thus permit thehandle 15 to be rotatively coupled to the head and reversed in positionthereon, so that the head may be positively rotated by the handle fromeither direction, the object to be hereafter fully explained.

Swinging upon the pivot 25 between the pawl 2-2-l and the side 17 of thehandle is a shipper member 26 having depending ends 272S engaging theinner face of the pawl and with the rear portion extended into a handle29 and projecting through a cavity 30 in the handle, the projection 29being sulliciently resilient to enable it to be engaged with oppositesides of a stop 31. By this arrangement it will be obvious the when thehandle member 29 is disposed at one side of the stop 31, the end 23 ofthe pawl will be engaged with the teeth 11, and when the resilientportion 29 of the shipper member is disposed at the opposite side of thestop 31, the point 2% of the pawl will be engaged with the teeth 11. Bythis means it will be obvious that the pawl may be readily reversed asrequired.

Formed through the head 10 is an elongated aperture 32 with guideavays33-3 lin its sides, the bottoms of the guide-ways provided respectivelywith spaced teeth Slidably disposed in the aperture 32 is a jaw member37, the member 37 being the movable jaw of the wrench, while the rearend 38 of the aperture 32 forms the stationary jaw of the wrench. Themovable jaw 37 is formed with overhanging lips 39 bearing over theopposite faces of the head 10. The portions of the aw 37 opposite theguide-ways 33S-lare formed with reversely inclined faces 40-4-1, andbearing against these inclined faces are locking blocks 4-2 t.3, theouter faces of the blocks having teeth corresponding with and adapted toengage the teeth 35-36 respectively, as shown. The movable jaw member 37is formed with a cavity in one face, and mounted upon the jaw withinthis cavity are spaced guide-members i lt5 through which rods f6%7 passand upturned at their outer ends and fitting in cavities in the blocks4L2 t3. Connected to the jaw member 37 is a spring e8 operating againstthe rods 4l6e.7, and yieldably maintaining the rods in position to holdthe blocks 4243 pressed toward their inner ends and yieldably inengagement with the teeth 35-36 of the guide-ways. By this arrangementit will be obvious that pressure applied against the inner faces of themovable jaw 37 will cause the inclined faces l0t1 to press the blocks42%3 with their teeth firmly against the teeth 3536 of the guide-waysand thus lock the movable jaw 3'7 firmly in position between theguide-ways. When the jaw 37 is to be adjusted, the upturned inner endsof the rods 4l64:7 are pressed toward the body of the jaw or against thespring tS which will release the blocks 42 and move them along theinclined faces 35 and disconnect them from the teeth 35-36 so that themovable jaw member 37 may be manually adjusted to any desired extentupon the guideways 33-3... Thus the movable jaw may be adjusted to fitany size of nut required within the range of the aperture 32 and theguide-ways 33 34;.

When it is desired to set a nut at home upon a bolt, the movable aw 37is adjusted as above described to fit the nut and the yieldable shipperarm adjusted to engage the end 2% of the double pawl with the teeth 11of the head and the handle 15 moved to the left as far as is convenientfor the operator and then returned to its original position, whichaction will not affect the head 10 as the pawl end 2st will simply clickover the teeth 11, but at the next stroke of the handle the rotatingoperation will be repeated, and so on step by step until the nut issufliciently set When it is desired to release the nut, the shiftermember 29 is reversed in position which will connect the pawl end 23with t 116 teeth so that at the movement of the handle 15 to the rightthe nut will be rotated backwardly upon the bolt and released.

If the device is to be employed upon left handed nuts it will be obviousthat the operation will be simply reverser.

The guide-ways at one side of the head 10 project a greater distanceinto the recess 32 than the guide-ways at the opposite side for aportion of their lengths, so that recesses 4-9-50 are formed openinginto aperture 32, and the overhanging lips 39 of the movable jaw at theside in which the recesses 4:950 are formed are shorter than theoverhangs at the other side, so that when the movable jaw is disposedopposite the recesscs, the movable jaw can be detached from the head, aswill be obvious.

The device is simple in construction, and is operative wherever aratchet wrench is required.

What is claimed, is

1. A wrench comprising a head having a nut receiving cavity' and withperipheral teeth, a handle having a concave face at one end rotativelyengaging said head and provided with spaced pins, a resilient bandbearing around. said head, and having lateral )IOjQCtlODS at its endsyieldably engaging said pins, and a pawl carried by said handle andengaging said teeth.

2. A wrench comprising a head having a nut receiving cavity providedwith confronting guide-ways formed with spaced teeth, a jaw movable insaid guide-ways and with reversely inclined faces, blocks each inclinedat one side and bearing against the inclined faces of the jaw and withthe other sides provided with teeth engaging the teeth of theguide-ways, means carried by said movable jaw for releasing said blocks,a handle, and means for coupling said handle to said head.

3. A wrench comprising a head having a nut receiving cavity providedwith confronting guide-ways formed with spaced teeth, a jaw movable insaid guide-ways and with reversely inclined faces, blocks each inclinedat one side and bearing against the inclined faces of the jaw and withthe other sides provided with teeth engaging the teeth of theguide-ways, rods swinging upon said movable jaw and coupled respectivelyto said blocks, whereby the blocks are released, a handle, and means forcoupling said handle to said head.

4-. A wrench comprising a head having peripheral teeth and with a nutreceiving cavity provided with confronting guideways formed with spacedteeth, a jaw movable in said guide-ways and with reverse-1y inclinedfaces, blocks each inclined at one side and bearing against the inclinedfaces of the jaw and with the other sides provided with teeth engagingthe teeth of the guideways, means carried by said movable jaw forreleasing said blocks, a handle having a concave face at one endrotatively engaging said head and provided with spaced pins, a resilientband bearing around said head, means for detachably connecting theterminals of said band to said pins, and a pawl carried by said handleand engaging said teeth.

In testimony whereof, I aflix my signature, in presence of twowitnesses.

OLIVER M. XVEIR.

Witnesses PEARL Bnmeronn, HARRY WARD.

